I did only weight-bearing exercises, for two reasons: one, I need to work on strength; two, most gym cardio uses the hip which I'm trying to rest.
I went for some circuit-style workouts to keep things interesting and make my fellow gym-goers have to guess what I was going to monopolize next.
Tuesday I did this circuit workout:
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| No, I did not warm up by dancing to a Lady Gaga song, despite the encouragement to do so by the other peeps in the gym. |
It actually looks harder to complete than it is: but that isn't to say it's easy. I finished in less time than I thought it would take, but I was sweating buckets (not helped by the fact that the upstairs in the gym is not air conditioned, and it was over 90 degrees. Ah, the joys of a 115+ year old gym). I woke up sore the next day, but it's easy for me to be sore because I never work my muscles out.
This workout has a cardio aspect if completed for time, as directed.
Next I tried this do-it-at-home workout from Shape. I liked that it focused entirely on upper body, since I need that, but I didn't like that it is made up of a lot of new (to me) moves and poses. I don't workout as well when I am constantly checking to make sure I'm actually doing what I'm supposed to be doing.
Thursday I took a rest day for no apparent reason except I was enjoying my coffee and had made a Wednesday trip to the library, meaning a big pile of unread books were calling my name.
Since I liked the "Outside your comfort zone" workout from Tuesday, I did another workout from Fitness Perks on Friday. This time I did an abs and glutes workout, but since it was shorter, I did it twice. Then I threw in one short lap around the pool balcony of dumbbell lunges (probably very bad for my hip). For some reason I didn't feel like this workout worked me out as much; maybe since I already have jumbo butt and stomach muscles (I do. They're just hidden under fat.)
I considered taking a spin class on Saturday morning, but I thought about the repetitive hip movement involved and decided against it. Instead I did the same workout I did Monday, with the addition of 150 hyperextension bench sit-ups. By the way, I do "girl" push-ups for this workout. In fact if I ever do any push-ups, they're girl-style. I actually cannot do ONE proper man push-up. I have super weak pecs.
Sunday I did "yoga for runners" and "power vinyasa yoga" from Yoga Download, plus fifteen of these ab exercises. Yoga never makes me feel worked-out: probably because I'm doing it wrong.
So - how am I feeling after the week off running?
1. Pissed. There was nice weather for 4 days this week and I was stuck in the gym.
2. Mad. There were two good races this week I should have run. And won.
3. Old. My hip still hurts - perhaps even more than before. Is this an injury or age?
Vinyasa flows make me feel worked out when I do several in a row to the pace of my breath (as in every time you inhale or exhale you change position), which is what happens in the flow classes I take. Of course some classes feel easier than others, and after taking the classes for a few months I realized that the day after the "easy" classes where I didn't leave feeling worked out, I'd be sore because I'd focus on my form so much more in those classes, which means that I was working all the right muscles!
ReplyDeleteI think yoga isn't necessarily great as a once in a while exercise but once you do it regularly and your form gets a littler better, you notice the benefits.
Hmmm....you need to get back to running! The workouts you're doing look great though. I hope you are back where you want to be, healthy and happy, asap!
ReplyDeleteThere are several types of yoga that are pretty boring. Sure, they are good stretches, but they don't make you sweat, which is what we are used to. However, I am surprised that the Power Yoga and the Yoga for Runners are not a little bit of a faster pace. Maybe you either did it wrong, or you need to find a different instructor.
ReplyDeleteAlright, I should try that "outside of your comfort zone" thing. I NEED to do some sort of strength training stuff and that seems simple-ish enough.
ReplyDeleteI also have NO pec muscles. I can't do a single pushup. How embarrassing! How can I run a marathon but not even do a pushup?
Oh and question...with that first workout, do you do all 50 things in a row? or do "sets" or whatever?
ReplyDeleteFifty all in a row, no breaks or rests. That's the cardio component.
Delete1. I'm sorry to hear about your hip.
ReplyDelete2. You're probably not going to like this, but a lot of those weight/circuit exercises are pretty hip intensive and the hip might have continued to be cranky because of them. Granted, I have no idea what your injury is, but some of these jumping and lunging things can be pretty tough on the bod (albeit great workouts).
3. Hope things start to turn around for the ole hip soon.